Police release details of deputy's arrest

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police held a press conference Monday to go over details in the arrest of one of their deputies.

The Broward Sheriff's Office arrested 34-year-old Manuel Silva on Friday but released few specifics. On Monday, Sheriff Al Lamberti held a press conference to go over why Silva stands accused of betraying the badge.

Lamberti said it began when Silva showed up at a Fort Lauderdale grow house and told the homeowner to hand over money and the marijuana plants on the condition he would not arrest him. "The case started when Detective Silva got information there where drugs in the house," Lamberti said. "He went to that house, and he found five marijuana plants in a house not far from here. Instead of arresting the drug suspect, he demanded money from him."

Police said he went to that home on Southwest 47th Terrace in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday. They said he was paid by the drug suspect on two occasions that Friday. Detectives arrested him during his second meeting with the suspect to grab more cash. After his arrest, police said they found prescription drugs in his car that did not belong to him.

BSO believes Silva did not act alone. "The investigation continues," Lamberti said. "We are not going to leave any stone unturned because I think there's more people involved."

On Sunday, Silva appeared in bond court to face the charges, which included armed burglary, armed extortion and possession of Oxycontin. The judge denied him bond.

Silva's arrest comes two months after Lamberti held a press conference announcing the arrest of another BSO deputy, Jonathan Bleiweiss, 29. Police arrested him on several counts of sexual battery on men he pulled over with his police cruiser. "The public who pays our salaries deserves more. They deserve to have people living up to a higher standard," Lamberti said.

(Copyright 2009 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)